Wildcats hand Pirates first league loss in girls basketball

LAPWAI — “This is a dagger” are the words that Skylin Picard heard from the Lapwai student section as she let a 3-point shot fly with the game tied 28-28 midway through the third quarter.

As the shot sailed through the nylon, Lapwai’s gym exploded. It got even louder about 10 seconds later when Picard, stopping on a dime in transition, sank another 3-point shot to put Lapwai up by six.

Picard’s four 3-pointers and 16 points paced the Lapwai Wildcats in their 50-46 win over the Prairie Pirates in a 2A Whitepine League girls basketball rivalry clash on Wednesday in Lapwai

It was the first league loss of the season for the Pirates.

Picard’s impact

Picard made her first game back on the floor after missing some time with a knee injury count with four 3-pointers on her way to 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals to lead Lapwai (14-3, 10-2) to the four-point win over Prairie (16-2, 12-1).

Lapwai coach Josh Leighton Jr. said that he advised Picard that she was rushing her shots when she was wide open.

The junior guard made the adjustment, and in the third quarter sank a trey on consecutive possessions to give Lapwai a lead it would protect for the rest of the game.

“For me, it was like she’s back,” Leighton said of Picard’s back-to-back 3s. “She’s been off. She had a knee injury, so she’s been off physically as well as mentally, and she finally got herself back into what she is.”

Once Picard’s shots began to fall, Lapwai, more than accustomed to big moments and top-tier basketball, got loud.

“When I can hear the student section get loud, it hypes me up a lot,” Picard said. “Makes me play better.”

Leighton said Picard’s success from beyond the arc provided the opportunity for the rest of Lapwai’s lineup to contribute.

“When she’s hitting shots and people are chasing her, it opens up any of our girls to get to the rim in all the aspects of what we do,” Leighton said.

Lapwai guard Madden Bisbee scored 11 points and garnered three steals and two assists as the director of the Wildcats offense, Lois Oatman totaled a couple of stellar steals of her own on her way to seven points, Amasone George posted seven points, Andrea Domebo contributed four points off the bench and Junee Picard (no relation to Skylin Picard) sank a corner 3 in the winning effort.

Lapwai led after every quarter break. Prairie led briefly in the second quarter, but a 19-point third quarter put the Wildcats up by nine with eight minutes to go. Prairie scored 15 points in the fourth to make it a two-score game in the final minute, but Lapwai closed it out.

A lesson in composure

The Pirates arrived in Lapwai with just one loss on their record and an undefeated mark in conference play.

Prairie coach Lori Mader said the Lapwai-Prairie rivalry goes back decades to when she played for the Pirates and means a lot to both schools.

The Pirates won Round 1 over Lapwai 55-49 on Jan. 16 in Cottonwood.

“(Lapwai is) a hard place to win,” Mader said. “Their crowd is vibrant. It’s aggressive, it’s energetic and it energizes the kids. And, you know, I just think it’s just that intense rival, and we respect each other, but we both want to beat each other.”

Leighton said he didn’t make any significant adjustments from their first meeting and that his team just focused on their game plan of limiting Prairie’s strengths in the post.

Prairie’s bigs, Sage Elven and Kylie Schumacher, scored 18 and eight points respectively.

Mader said her team did a decent job of getting shots up in the post but wound up missing more than it could afford.

The Wildcats attempted to minimize the number of opportunities the Pirates got in the post with a disorienting defensive strategy.

“We call it control havoc,” Leighton said. “What we’re doing is control, but it creates havoc of what you’re doing offensively. You got to be able to either run with us and get crazy or be able to get it to a point and say, okay, I’ll run my offense.”

Skylin Picard said the Wildcats are outsized by about everyone in their league, with most girls standings around 5-foot-8 inches tall. Prairie’s posts Schumacher and Elven are each listed at 5-10.

To combat the size disadvantage, they had to be physical. The Wildcats tallied 10 steals on the night and converted about half of these turnovers into points.

The Pirates also lost points at the foul line, making just 13-of-21 shots.

“For us, it’s composure and staying within our own game plan and not letting the crowd and the energy of the (opposing) team set the pace of what’s going to happen,” Mader said. “You can’t have a turnover every minute of the game and expect that you’re going to have success.”

Wildcats eye State

The win for Lapwai keeps the Wildcats in third place because of their loss to Kamiah but sets up a decent race for the standings and an entertaining district tournament. Prairie remains in first place.

“It just gives the girls more confidence that they can do that,” Leighton said. “We shouldn’t have a second thought, because we can play at that level.”

Skylin Picard said that she and Bisbee have stepped into leadership roles as juniors this year and have enjoyed the responsibility.

The growth that her team has shown gives her deep confidence.

“I think we got state for sure,” Skylin Picard said. “As long as we play together.”

PRAIRIE (16-2, 12-1)

Lexi Schumacher 1 3-6 5, Sydney Shears 2 3-4 8, Hailey Hanson 1 5-6 7, Nadia Cash 0 0-0 0, Mia Anderson, Sage Elven 9 0-0 18, Kylie Schumacher 3 2-3 8. Totals 16 13-21 46.

LAPWAI (14-3, 10-2)

Charize Kipp 1 0-0 2, Ella Payne 0 0-0 0, Amasone George 3 1-2 7, Andrea Domebo 2 0-0 4, Lois Oatman 3 0-0 7, Cavell Samuels 0 0-0 0, Junee Picard 1 0-0 3, Jennilla WhiteTemple 0 0-0 0, Madden Bisbee 4 3-4 11. Totals 20 4-6 50.

Prairie 8 11 12 15—46

Lapwai 11 10 19 10—50

3-point goals — S. Picard 4, Oatman, J. Picard, Shears.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.